Goldfish in the Storm

My hair was doing that thing again—the frizzy halo effect that made me look like I'd stuck a fork in an electrical outlet. In forty-five minutes, Jordan would be here to pick me up for homecoming, and I was having a lightning-level crisis.

"Maya! The cable's out!" Kevin screamed from downstairs. "I was literally mid-ranked match!"

"Maybe study instead?" I muttered, attacking my hair with a straightening iron.

My fourteen-year-old brother burst into my room, holding—of all things—his goldfish bowl. "Bubbles looks depressed. The internet's dead. This is the worst night ever."

"Kevin, get out. I'm trying to look like a human being, not a electrocuted poodle."

Then the doorbell rang. Thirty minutes early. I panicked, threw on my dress, and practically fell down the stairs.

Jordan stood there looking stupidly perfect in his navy suit. Then I saw it: the giant bear mascot head tucked under his arm. The same bear head that had tripped me in the hallway last week when he was in costume for the pep rally.

"I, uh, have to return this to the school," he said, scratching the back of his neck. "My little sister hid it in my car."

That's when Kevin appeared with Bubbles. "Is this THE Jordan? Maya's been talking about you non-stop for—"

"KEVIN."

"—literally ever, and wow, nice bear head."

A massive crash of thunder shook the house. The power flickered and died. Perfect.

"We could... hang here?" Jordan suggested. "Unless that's weird."

So there we were: me, Jordan, Kevin, and a depressed goldfish, sitting by candlelight while a storm raged outside. Jordan made Bubbles "dance" by moving the bowl. Kevin thought it was hilarious. I stopped caring about my hair.

"So," Jordan said, finally looking at me instead of the floor. "I was gonna ask you to save a dance for me. But under the circumstances..."

He took my hand. Lightning flashed through the window, illuminating everything white-gold for a split second.

"I guess this works," I said.

And it did. The cable came back eventually. My hair never cooperated. But that moment? That was electric.